Palestinians and Israeli Arabs flooded the streets today in the West Bank and Gaza strip in observance of Land Day. The festivities included demonstrations, rallies, and speeches from Palestinian Leaders.
The
Israeli Defense Force was also in attendance, dressed in full riot
gear. The violence was minimal, consisting largely of bouts of stone
throwing and generally ending in less than an hour. Two Israeli
soldiers were treated for minor stone throwing related wounds. The
IDF employed nonlethal deterrents, such as tear gas, and a handful
of Palestinians were treated for minor injuries related to the
aforementioned deterrents. It is worth noting that live rounds were
fired to disperse demonstrators near the border between the Gaza
Strip and Israel. No one was injured.
Today's
activities marked the thirty-seventh annual Land Day. The tradition
dates back to the killing of six Arab-Israelis citizens by Israeli
security forces during a 1976 protest. The protest were in response
to Government land confiscations in Northern Israel, leading to the
event's title of Land Day. Land is still a hot-button issue in
Israel; Arab parties have refused to return to the negotiating table
until settlement building in the West Bank is halted. During this
year's Land Day, Palestinian
Prime Minister Salam Fayyad planted an olive tree in a West Bank area know as E1. This site is said to be earmarked for future Israeli
settlement.
The
tradition of Land Day demonstrates two issues discussed in class.
The first, the subject of our first essay, is the amount of weight
that historical events still hold in the Middle East. In the case of
Land Day, the deaths of six Arab protesters – dating back to before
the First Intifada – spark an ongoing tradition of demonstration and
disdain for Israeli land practices. The second is the lack of
progress made over the past thirty-five plus years. As mentioned in
class, the issues between Israel and Palestine are largely the same
issues of the '70s. The protests in 1976 were over land confiscation
and, today, the Land Day protests are again over land confiscation –
in the form of “settlement”.
Matt
Leap
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